"Ah… it's closed."
Staring at the CIOSD sign hanging at the front, Asaba Yuma scratched his head and let out a helpless sigh. After boarding the subway that ran straight from Lumina Square to Sixth Street, he immediately drifted off to sleep.
After all, once you've done something once you're familiar with it; twice and it's routine. Yuma had walked this route many times. And every single time, Doctor Chiya had never been closed—so much so that Yuma unconsciously believed this was a kind of tacit understanding between the two of them.
"So in the end… I was the one who misread it? Boohoohoo… Yuma is really going to be sad now…"
Even though he had been stood up, Yuma didn't panic. After a bit of fake crying to vent his emotions, he quietly pulled out his phone.
He opened Knock-Knock, logged in, smoothly switched to his secret alt account, and sent the call.
[Live Long and Prosper]: [Live Long and Prosper] knocked on [One Thousand and One Nights]' head—only to get elbowed into orbit by Huxeya.
[Live Long and Prosper]: Doctor Chiya, can you change that knock animation already? The kid can't breathe, you know! [Agent Gulliver: Lost].JPG
Five minutes later—
[Live Long and Prosper]: Hey, hey, Doc. You busy? Or did you go fishing again?
[One Thousand and One Nights]: Skunked today. Emotionally numb. Tired and hungry. Want someone to treat me to dinner.
[Live Long and Prosper]: Wow, Doctor Chiya, your intentions are way too obvious. If you say that to me, then I have to pay, don't I? Half my newly earned paycheck is about to evaporate again~~~
[One Thousand and One Nights]: No. I mass-sent it. Whoever replies fastest treats me. [Huxeya: Arms Crossed, Serious].JPG
[Live Long and Prosper]: [Asaba Yuma: Hand on Heart, Crying].JPG
So that's how it is… Doctor Chiya, I'm not your only one? I thought I held the most important place in your heart.
[One Thousand and One Nights]: From a medical standpoint, you do have a very "important slot" reserved on my operating table. But yes—you're still the one paying.
[Live Long and Prosper]: Oh my, I didn't expect to be so honored—to win the privilege of treating Doctor Chiya. I'm overwhelmed with joy.
[One Thousand and One Nights]: Actually, someone replied even faster than you. But the moment she realized she wasn't the one being treated, she logged off at lightspeed.
[Live Long and Prosper]: Then I'll prepare coffee for you in advance, Doctor. A cup of Tinman Special, how's that?
[One Thousand and One Nights]: My review: specials are fine, but they lose to a Hongcha Latte. So you know what to do…
Meanwhile, in Red Fang Gang territory, in a concealed corner, the three members of Cunning Hares wore grim expressions.
After a moment, Nicole spoke first.
"Uh, Anby, don't look at me like that~! I saw Chiya's message, and it was Thursday, so I thought he was inviting us to go 'wild'…"
"Sure, the moment I saw he was actually asking someone to treat him, I reflexively went offline to see-no-evil. But didn't we also avoid adding another expense to Chiya's little ledger?"
"Nicole… bad."
"Ugh, Boss… Nicole Boss aaah~~"
Over the past days, as Wise and Belle kept digging into what was inside the safe, the two of them became increasingly convinced that the AI called Fairy was hiding enormous secrets—secrets that clearly couldn't be explained by a small-time outfit like the Red Fangs.
So after accepting Phaethon's commission, the Cunning Hares stepped back into this area that had left them with nothing but bad memories.
And now, Nicole—under the accusatory stares and helpless sighs of her teammates—could only take the heat.
Because the instant Chiya sent that message, Anby—who had set Chiya to "special notifications"—felt the phone vibration immediately.
The other two people she'd also set to "special" hadn't even touched their phones.
And if Chiya hadn't replaced their phones after that near-death mess, Anby's old flip phone wouldn't even have this feature…
Which was exactly why Anby—who'd been nonstop running missions with Nicole lately—desperately wanted to use this chance to go out and have fun with Chiya again.
But Nicole—the fastest hands in the West—threw the chance away.
And Anby's sadness and hesitation were easy to imagine, because if Nicole had taken it, she—unprepared as she was—definitely wouldn't withstand Anby's pleading and would end up giving the opportunity to Anby anyway.
Then Anby could take Chiya to eat delicious burgers again… maybe even try that videotape she'd accidentally found under the couch at the proxy shop.
But that chance was tossed into the abyss by the Denny-hungry Nicole.
Anby stared at her for a long time, and could only squeeze out:
"Nicole… bad."
Billy, however, was a different story.
As a robot who'd seen plenty of storms, Billy looked unserious, but when it came to romance stuff, he was weirdly the clearest-eyed.
He caught it instantly: the faint blush on Nicole's face—still not entirely gone, now resurfacing under Anby's accusation—wasn't guilt.
It was hesitation and shyness… the kind that makes you run away by logging off.
He stuck his butt up, slapped a hand to his forehead, and sighed.
"Nicole Boss… this is exactly how the 'losing heroine' loses."
"Billy! What are you saying?! You don't want your salary anymore?!"
"No, no, no! Boss, I mean—… forget it. Boss, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Billy shrugged, then his expression snapped serious.
"Boss, Anby—footsteps. Hide."
"Idiot. You're explaining yourself later."
"Mm. Didn't expect it to be here."
"Senior Qingyi, you know this place?"
"Aiya, Zhu Yuan, you're young but you've got the air of someone who's already aged—confident and composed. So why are you just playing armchair general right now?"
Parking the Public Security vehicle, Qingyi stretched lazily.
"Sixth Street. This isn't an ordinary place, Zhu Yuan. And that junior, Chiya, is here too."
"Um… Senior Qingyi?"
"Mhm—Section 6 doesn't need to be that stiff with me. Miss Tsukishiro, do you have a question?"
"Yes. You already brought up 'Chiya' while we were driving here."
Yanagi wiped her glasses again, forcing down the dizziness from the insane speed earlier, and asked:
"Who exactly is this Chiya you're referring to?"
"That…" Qingyi said, smiling. "Why don't you investigate for yourself after this mission is over—and then come ask me?"
"Because if you can find anything else about Chiya on your own, that means I can reveal a bit more to you."
"For now, I can only tell you one thing: Chiya is a doctor."
"A doctor… then, Seth, you—"
Zhu Yuan frowned, turning toward Seth, ready to have him pull up information—
But the tough cat-man had already closed his eyes and collapsed in the car.
"Mhm. Junior Seth has tried very hard. Let him rest."
"As for you, Zhu Yuan—if you still have doubts, come take a look with me."
"I think that executor over there—who's leisurely staring at his phone while his whole body is stiff like a malnourished, unhealthy man—can answer a lot of your questions."
"Asaba-kun." "Yuma." "Asaba Executor."
Ah, so he'd been caught this time.
Watching Section 6 and the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team approach, Yuma could only smile bitterly.
"…Huh? Asaba already went inside? Did his condition suddenly worsen?"
Arriving late, Chiya spotted the pink ribbon Yuma had left at the entrance. He picked it up, puzzled, and scratched at his cowlick.
"Strange… wasn't the signal always yellow before? Why is it pink this time?"
A vague unease surfaced in his chest, but Huxeya's "mm-hm" beside him gave him infinite confidence.
"Well, even if it's not Yuma and it's some other bad guy… it still won't be Huxeya's opponent—"
Chiya pushed open the door—
—and saw, sitting in the room:
one Void Hunter,
one Special Response Team leader,
two Section 6 executors,
Seth and Yuma sprawled across the sofa unconscious,
and one familiar old troublemaker.
"Senior Qingyi… you're the one who brought the cops and the super-cops here?"
"Aiya, that's rude. We're only here because we followed the trail of your 'patient,' you know?"
"Yuma! You betrayed me!"
"Doctor Chiya! I had no choice!"
If you paste Chapter 15, I'll keep the same format and terminology.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 50)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 70)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 50)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 54)
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